This invention relates to a method for regulating the granulometric characteristic of the components in metallurgical slags, which is used for obtaining preselected sizes of the metallic inclusions which are selected so that the slag is suitable for subsequent treatment and concentration. One of the objects of known methods for treating metallurgical slags is to increase the size of the metallic inclusions. In such known method the slags are poured on crystallization fields and are cooled at a rate of several degrees per hour. In such delayed cooling the metallic inclusions retain a sufficient mobility, so that they can move to aggregate to the desired size. After solidification the slags are broken into pieces of preset size and are ground up, and are then subjected to a floatation treatment for the separation of the metal particles.
A drawback of these methods lies in that, in spite of the prolonged and regulated time of cooling of the slag, its granulometric composition is formed comparatively arbitrarily, and at that a large portion of the metallic inclusions are not aggregated to the necessary size, and thus during floatation they are not recovered from the slag. Another drawback lies in the requirement of large open areas for the pieces, and the regulating of the rate of cooling which is difficult because of the influence of different climatic and meteorologic factors.
There are also known methods for impoverishment of metallurigical slags, in which the vessel holding the slag or the slag itself are subjected to the action of vibration using either horizontal or vertical vibrations. The heavy metallic phase is separated from the bottom portion of the vessel, while the impoverished slag remains on the surface and is thrown out.
The object of all these methods lies only in impoverishing the slag by direct recovery of the metal from it. The necessity of prolonged vibrations for a total recovery of the metal makes these methods inefficient from a viewpoint of the consumed energy and materials. The reduction of the duration of vibrations leads to the loss of valuable metal together with the slag.